“I’m fine,” she quickly said, already trying to move past me.
“That ain’t what I asked,” I said, turning with her instead of letting her brush me off.
She looked at me then, just for a second, then shifted her focus to the door. “Is she awake?”
“Yeah, she in and out but she good and the baby is too.”
That made her pause just enough for it to register. Her shoulders dropped a little, then she pulled herself back together like she remembered where she was and who was watching. “Dom in there?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
She stepped up to the door and looked through that little glass window like she needed to see it herself before she went in. Something besides this was up with O’Shynn but I couldn’t pinpoint it. I leaned against the wall and watched her for a second, then glanced down the hallway when I saw Tone coming back up.
“We need to talk O,” I told her. I never got in her business but maybe I needed to start.
O’Shynn turned from the door, with a curious expression. “About what?”
Before I could even talk my phone started ringing again, but this time it wasn’t Keondra, it was Mama. Candy D name lit up my screen, and I already knew what type of time she was on before I even answered. If Keondra was worked up, Mama was about to be on a whole different level worse than she was earlier since she couldn’t get no answers. I picked up and barely got the phone to my ear before she started.
“What the fuck is going on?” she snapped, loud enough that both Tone and O’Shynn looked at me. “I turned on the TV and they talking about a shooting and Carmen name all over the damn news like she some type of headline. Where is she at? What happened? And why can’t I get Dom or O’Shynn on the phone? Why did you hang up on me earlier?!”
I pulled the phone away for a second and shook my head, then put it back to my ear. “Ma, chill.”
“Don’t tell me to chill,” she quickly cut me off. “Don’t do that! Tell me what happened. Is she okay? And don’t you lie to me either, Dique, I know how y’all be trying to water shit down.”
I glanced at O’Shynn and she already knew Mama was on the line. She mouthed, “What she saying?” but I just waved her off for a second.
“She straight,” I told Mama, keeping my tone respectful so she ain’t cuss my black ass out. “She at the hospital. She went into shock, but she good and your grandbaby is too.”
Ma got quiet for half a second, then I heard her let out a breath that sounded like it came from her soul. “Oh my God… I was about to get in the car and drive down there myself.” she gasped.
“You don’t need to do all that,” I said. “We got her.”
“Who the fuck shot at her?” she snapped right back, raising her voice again. “That’s what I want to know. Who felt comfortable enough to raise a gun at my daughter-in-law in the middle of the damn day?”
Did it matter what part of the day it was?Was what I really wanted to ask, but she was already ready to cuss my black ass out. That part almost made me smirk even though the situation was serious, because Mama didn’t play about Carmen. That wasn’t just Dom’s wife to her. That was her daughter now, period.
“We handling it,” I informed.
“No, don’t give me that,” she came right back. “I’m not one of your little friends. Who did it?”
I rubbed my jaw and looked down the hallway again, letting a second pass before answering. “We got it, Ma. That’s all you need to know right now.”
She sucked her teeth loud as hell. “Mmm. That’s what I thought. Y’all already plotting something.”
O’Shynn shook her head like she was trying not to laugh, and even Tone looked away for a second. I focused back on ma. “Just stay at the house,” I told her. “We’ll come see you tomorrow.”
“I’m not going nowhere,” she said. “But you better keep me updated and tell Carmen I said she better not scare me like that again; I don’t got time for that.”
“I’ll tell her.”
“And Dique?”
“Yeah.”
“You better be careful too. All that moving around y’all do, don’t think I don’t know what come with it. Especially with your hot-headed ass. All I want is for my boys to make it out of that life.”
“I know ma, I know.” I told her.
